Day 19 – It’s All In The Fine Print II – Short Story

Damon Welford slams the door shut and slowly steps backwards and falls to the ground in a heap, tears rolling down his cheeks, his moment of self-pity is interrupted by the sound of clapping coming from the lounge room, he nervously turns his head and his rage intensifies, sitting on the couch is a smug looking Marcus.

“You, you fucking prick, what have you done?” Damon yells as he scrambles to his feet and charges at Marcuse, who easily sends him crashing into the couch, he pushes Damon’s face into the pillows and pulls back violently on his arm.

“I gave you what you asked for, nothing more,” Marcus says as he pulls back on Damon’s arm once more before he releases the emotional Damon to sink into the couch. “You wanted to go back to before the accident, knowing what you know now and I facilitated that, the accident will now never take place and your disability will never become, isn’t that what you asked for?”

“You fucking twisted it all, this isn’t what I wanted, not exactly!”

“Well, I’m sorry it isn’t exactly the way you wanted it, but it is what you asked for, and it’s what I gave you, the agoraphobia, that’s not my problem, it wasn’t part of the deal, had you asked me to cure your agoraphobia you would still be sitting in your chair, jerking off to teenage girls on the internet.”

“Fuck you, fix it, take me back!”

“Sorry, that’s an impossibility, the stream has been changed, going forward is just impossible,” Marcus says. “But we have grander things to achieve, you and I.”

“What the hell are you talking about, you expect me to help you now, well, that’s not going to happen, I’m going to sue you for everything, and believe me I’ve got the money to make the fight hurt you, more than it will hurt me.”

Marcus laughs, “You had the money, when you were in your little den, feeling sorry about your little legs being all useless, but here, today, you have nothing but what your father gives you. Or have you forgotten that the accident that took your legs also removed everyone who stood in your way to the fortune your family made? Without the accident your father, mother and older brother still live, so you have nothing.”

“You son of a fucking bitch you played me!” Damon yells as he forces himself to his feet, and Marcus shoves him, face first, back into the pillows of the couch.

“You got what you wanted, now I take my payment, but, like I said, it’s nothing from you, I’m going to take your fathers fortune, and I’m going to leave you with nothing, sure I used you, but not because I needed what you had, you’re just collateral damage Damon, nothing more, nothing less,” he hisses in his ear and shoves him down as he walks across the room.

“You won’t get anything, I’ll tell him everything, he’ll never deal with you, he’ll crush you and I’ll be the one laughing.”

“It’s too late, the deal is almost done, and you, well, you’re not going to be bothering me one little bit, I mean, you’ve got a lot of things to deal with, and that agoraphobia, that’s got to be a bit to get on top of, I mean, do you know it sends some people so far over the edge they commit suicide?”

“Are you threatening my life now?”

Marcus laughs again, “I don’t need to threaten anything, I keep promises, that is all, nothing more, nothing less, I have this gift you see, well it’s not really a gift, it’s something entirely different, but it gives me the ability to travel through time, up here,” he says tapping his head. “All the memories, experiences, fears and dare I say, damage, that is done to the old noggin, well it follows you everywhere, like a bad smell, you can’t escape it, you can’t change it, you can only live with it, of course with some tweaking things can be eased, or as in your case, increased,” he says with a smile.

“What, what do you mean increased? What the fuck have you done to me?” Damon yells as he rushes at Marcus and grabs him by the collar and slams him into the wall. “What have you done to me?”

Marcus smiles, “You’ll find out soon enough,” he says as he raise his arm and looks at his watch. ”In fact, you should be finding out, right about… now.”

Damon releases his grip on Marcus and falls to the floor screaming, clutching his head, “What h-have you d-d-d-done to m-m-me?” he yells.

“Nothing, well actually, not nothing, I mean, in reality I’ve done a lot, but in your case, I really, didn’t do a lot, I just gave you a little something to help the walls close in, to help the sanity slip further away.”

To challenge oneself to 365 days of creation, giving myself one hour a day to write, thirty minutes to edit and then post the story and see where it leads. I'll also throw in excerpts of a novel I'm working or as well, which is how the short stories started in the first place, as a way to exorcise all the little, crazy stories that wouldn't fit anywhere out of my head, so, I hope you enjoy the trip. I should note, that all stories are created and owned by myself, if you like something and want to share it please do, share away, But if you want to feature it on your site or jumble something into an anthology please ensure you contact me first so we can discuss it like adults and not children who do not understand how the world works.

Welcome to the Rivers of Grue. I am the Keeper of the Crimson Quill and within these pages you will find a smorgasbord of different offerings ranging from fiction, introspective, and poetry, to film appraisals. There is absolutely no censorship and it is my aim to immerse the addressee through audio and visual stimulation, as well as my inimitable brand of prose. I trust you will enjoy your stay!